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by Mislav



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: F/M, Halloween, Southern Gothic, Teen Romance, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:13:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27524413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mislav/pseuds/Mislav
Summary: Super Scary (Or Not) Halloween challenge. Sheldon/Alex (Shalex), teen AU. Southern Gothic style. Sheldon returns home during the summer, meets up with his friend and discovers a strange mystery in his town. Rated M for some violence and dark themes. I wanted to publish this weeks ago, but lots of stuff got in the way. I'm sorry for the delay. However, I still wanted to publish it this year, so here we are.
Relationships: Sheldon Cooper/Alex Jensen





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**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I don't own any of "The Big Theory" characters and I am not making any money from writing this.
> 
> Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, Emglish is not my native language.
> 
> 1\. Must be a non-canon pairing: Sheldon/Penny, Leonard/Amy, Howard/Raj, Amy/Raj, Bernadette/Penny, etc. (Please remember to list the pairing in the description.)
> 
> 2\. Must be supernatural (vampires, witches, werewolves, ghosts, demons, etc.) OR a Murder Mystery (think Christie, Doyle, Clue/Cluedo, Scooby Doo gang etc.) OR you can take a scene/chapter from your favorite (scary) play/book/movie and rewrite it for your non-canon pairing.
> 
> 3\. Must be a one-shot, or a multi-chapter (but no more than 5,000 words).
> 
> Just to clarify: this is Sheldon/Alex story, teen AU. Southern-Gothic style. No chapter will be longer than 5000 words, in accordance to the rules. I will probably publish the rest by next week. There are 2-3 more chapters left.
> 
> This story takes place in 1996, soon after Sheldon returns home from Germany during the summer. He was the guest professor there at the age of fifteen, for an unspecified duration of time; the story has him at sixteen by the time he comes back. (According to The Big Bang Theory Wiki, he was born in 1980.) Alex is the same age. Presumably he will go on to get his PhD later that year (it is mentioned that he got his first PhD at the age of sixteen, and that was presumably at MIT).

"Shelly! So glad to have you back!"

Sheldon winced as his twin sister ran over and wrapped him into a tight hug. He forced a small smile and patted her on the back, while Mary and Meemaw stood near by and watched them, smiling brightly. Sheldon was actually relieved when George walked over and shook his hand, though he still shuddered at the strong grip.

"Back from Europe! A professor!" he exclaimed. "Who would have thought?"

Definitely not you, Sheldon thought, but he just smiled and said: "Indeed."

"It's nice to be home, isn't it, Moonpie?" Meemaw prompted, rubbing his hair. Sheldon beamed and nodded.

"You came back at just the right time too," George continued as Sheldon, his mother and grandmother made their way into the house. "Lots of interesting stuff going on around here."

"I highly doubt that," Sheldon thought, hurriedly heading to his room. But instead, he simply asked: "Really?"

George nodded. "Yeah. Just this weekend, they found three teens dead on the bottom of a lake, back in Stonecreek Valley." He turned toward Sheldon and lowered hia voice. "Two girls, Emily Tanner and Melany Miller, both 16, and Tom Davis, 17. And get this: they say that their bodies were completely drained of blood. Not a drop remained. And the only injuries found were two punctures on the neck."

Sheldon stopped in his tracks, feeling himself shiver. For once, his brother actually said something interesting, not to mention unexpected. "Strange," he said reservedly, a frown appearing on his face.

Missy sighed. "I went to school with them. Not the same class, I would only see them in passing, but still... it's awful. And get this; another girl from my school went missing two days ago."

George nodded in agreement. "Miranda Jones. Also sixteen. Her parents are freaking out."

"I guess that explains all the police patrols I saw on the way here," Sheldon noted, taking a quick look out the window, feeling anxiety creep in. He took a deep breath, trying to sort out his thoughts. "Well, that lake is located over twenty miles away from our home. No reason to be worried, I'm sure. Though I would still suggest getting a better lock, preferably two, for both the front and the back door, and a home alarm system."

Meemaw turned to face him. "I'm here, Moonpie. We will be just fine."

Mary sighed, giving both Missy and George a disapproving look. "Now, don't bother your brother with that. All this is a second-hand information, cops still keep it all under wraps. It's probably drug-related, like with those poor kids they found in two years ago. Nothing that we have to worry about," she concluded, giving George a pointed look. He nodded and looked away. Mary turned toward Sheldon and patted his head, giving him a warm smile. "Great to have you back, Shelly."

"Likewise, mom," Sheldon said softly, then continued down the hallway and went to his room. He felt a twitch of hesitation, even worry as he opened the door. He looked around, soon feeling relief followed by a surge of nostalgia. Just the way it was. He was worried that George or Missy would mess it up while he was away, just because, but apparently not. He smiled, put the suitcase down on the bed and began unpacking.

"You know, Alex has been asking about you. A lot."

Sheldon flinched and turned around. Missy was standing in the doorway, her head leaned to the side, arms crossed over her chest, a playful smile on her face.

Alex Jensen was the girl from their neighborhood; and, in Sheldon's opinion, the only remotely intelligent person in town. She was going to same High school as Missy. Sheldon knew that the two of them hanged out at one point, albeit briefly. That is how he first met her; last summer, when he was back home and Missy brought her over. Alex was the one to start talking to him; apparently, Missy told her how smart her brother was. They started talking, and he was genuinely surprised that she could even understand what he was saying. They ended up talking about Physics for over an hour; then Math. That was a whole new experience for him; up until then, people actually interested in his work were much older than him. From that point on, they would hang out pretty much every day.

"Jensen girl?" Sheldon commented more than asked, already knowing the answer.

Missy rolled her eyes. "You mean, the only Alex in the neighborhood? Yeah, her." She smirked, lowering her voice. "And I heard that mom invited her over for dinner tonight."

Sheldon stared back at Missy for a moment, feeling his heart rate speed up, blush creeping up his cheeks. He quickly looked away and continued unpacking. "Well, if she wants to come..."

Missy glared at him, her lips widening into a grin. "Of course she does." She looked at Sheldon for a moment, then just shook her head and left.

#

"It must have been very nice. In Germany."

Sheldon looked up from his plate, feeling awkward again. Alex was sitting across the table from him, looking at him intently, a coy smile on her face. Mary, sitting at the head of the table, looked at her son and then at Alex again, smiling slightly.

"A definite upgrade," Sheldon muttered before taking a sip of water.

Alex chuckled. "You know, I always wanted to see Europe," she finally said, looking up at Sheldon. That time, her voice was lower, more serious, and their eyes met. Sheldon looked back at her, feeling himself shudder.

"Maybe you will someday," he said casually, not really meaning much by it. Alex looked confused for a moment, and then her face lightened up, her eyes widening. Sheldon gulped, feeling jolts go down his back, and he quickly continued eating, looking down at his plate the whole time.

After dinner, Sheldon got up from the table and headed back to his room. Alex readily got up and followed him. He stopped and looked at her. "Where are you going?" he asked.

Alex shrugged, smiling slightly. "Wherever it is you're going."

Sheldon glared at her. "Nobody goes into my room. Especially girls."

Alex grinned. "Not with that attitude they don't."

Sheldon said, growing increasingly annoyed. "I happen to value my privacy."

Alex rolled her eyes, then took a step closer to him. "What's the matter?" she asked teasingly. "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

Sheldon blushed, feeling heat rush through his body, his mouth turning dry. He desperately tried to think of an appropriate response, while Alex held his gaze the whole time, standing only a feet away from him. It was an odd feeling. Odd and intense.

"Just for you," he finally said, and headed to his room with Alex in tow. She beamed and eagerly followed him.

Sheldon felt himself grow tense when they walked into his room. But he had no time to worry about that. As soon as the door closed behind them, Alex ran over to him and embraced him, hugging him tightly.

Sheldon froze in place, his heart hammering in his chest. His mind immediately raced with hundreds of panicked thoughts about the germs. But in the next moment, it was like the whole train of thought just stopped. He was overwhelmed by the feeling of Alex's body pressed up against him. Alex laid her head on his shoulder and let out a heavy sigh, holding him tightly. "I'm so glad you're back," she mused softly, snuggling against him. He gulped and carefully put his hands on her shoulders, pulling her closer, only slightly. Alex purred. "You have no idea."

When Alex finally let him go, Sheldon felt a sudden, strong relief; soon followed by an unexpected disappointment. He frowned, suddenly unsure of himself.

"I read your latest work," Alex informed him, sounding excited. "As soon as I heard about it. They put it up online."

"Ah, Internet," Sheldon mused longingly. "I sure hope it catches on." He looked at her, clearly interested. "What did you think?"

Alex grinned. "Impressive, thought-provoking and surprisingly witty."

Sheldon blushed. "I would hope so. It took me almost three days to write it."

Alex beamed. "I printed it out and everything." She reached into her pocket. "By the way... my parents got me this for my birthday last week. Because I'm such a good girl."

Sheldon's eyes widened. "Cellular phone."

Alex chuckled. "Yeah. It's like a phone, but you can carry it with you... and send textual messages. It's like something out of a sci-fi."

Sheldon nodded, looking up at her. "I got one too. In Germany, shortly after the PhD. I prefer email though. That's the thing of the future."

Alex pouted. "You know... if we were to exchange numbers, we could stay in touch easily."

Sheldon frowned, suddenly feeling uneasy. "You know, they say these things can give you brain cancer."

Alex giggled and shook her head. "Yeah, right!"

"So... how have you been? All fine around here?"

Alex shrugged. "As fine as it can be without you." Sheldon nodded, looking away. Alex stood up, suddenly serious. "Which reminds me. There is something else I want to talk to you about."

"OK," Sheldon exclaimed, then stood up and took a few steps back. Alex watched him.

"You must have found out what happened here," she started, her voice deep, serious. "About those teens found on the bottom of a lake."

Sheldon just looked at her for a moment, feeling himself shiver. "Yes, George told me as soon as I got here. Why?"

Alex bit her lower lip, looking away for a moment. "Well, I go to the same school as... the victims..."

"So does Missy."

"And the missing girl, Miranda Jones, she is actually from my class."

Sheldon's eyes widened. He felt a knot in his stomach. "Alex... I'm sorry. I'm sure that..."

Alex gave him an assuring look. "It's OK. We didn't really know each other all that well..."

Sheldon nodded. "Oh..."

Alex squirmed, looking down at the floor for a moment. "Yeah... except she talked to me... reached out to me... a day before she went missing.

Sheldon frowned. He didn't say anything. Alex continued. "She wanted my help. With solving a Math equation. I thought it was odd, because it wasn't homework. And Miranda was never particularly good with, or interested in Math. But I agreed to help her. The next day, she was gone."

Sheldon's eyes bore into hers. "Did you tell the cops that?"

Alex blushed, running a hand through her hair. "They talked to me. And other kids from my class. But I figured, what would be the point? I haven't solved it, I don't know what it entails. They would just think it was weird... maybe even suspicious."

Sheldon was taken aback. "You haven't?"

Alex shrugged. "I tried. But it's too difficult. For me. I'm good... but not good enough." She pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him. Sheldon hesitated for a moment, then took it. "So, I thought... maybe you could give a try?"

Sheldon studied the problem carefully, trying to maks sense of it all. It was definitely complicated. The numbers and order looked vaguely familiar to him, but he definitely couldn't solve it on the spot.

"I can try," Sheldon said after a short silence. "And don't feel bad. It looks pretty hard."

Alex smiled widely. "Thank you."

She sat on the bed. Sheldon stood near by, still studying the equation. Alex looked up at him, silent for a few moments. "Don't you think it's strange? The way... I mean, their bodies were entirely drained of blood... and no injuries were found other than..."

Sheldon snickered. "Those are just rumors, Alex. Who knows if they're true. In all probability, they're not. For all we know, somebody just slit their throats or stabbed them in the jugular, they bled out, and now people blow everything out of proportion, like they tend to do."

But Alex was determined. "It's more than that. They were all killed a week apart, exactly. And a week after the last victim had been killed, went missing." She waited for a moment, then said silently, her eyes meeting Sheldon's: "Doesn't that remind you of... you know... those old stories, folklore... about vampires?"

Sheldon stared back at her for a moment, trying to process her last statement, like he couldn't believe what she just said. "Allow me to respond with a snort of derision. Surely a girl as clever as you knows better than to seriously entertain ancient superstitions used to explain mental illness, serial killers and hemophilia?"

Alex's eyes widened, her cheeks crimson red. "You think I'm clever?"

Sheldon groaned. "Until now..."

Alex shot him a glare, but managed to keep her cool. "And it's not just that, Sheldon. There have been two other suspicious deaths. But people don't talk about them as much. They are not as shocking, not that interesting. No dead teenagers, no apparent serial killer on the loose. Two hunters were found dead in the woods around here. Mauled to death. More to that, they said that in both cases, their hearts were missing. They think it's a rabid wolf or coyote or something. They are still searching the woods for it, still nothing. But I noticed something. Those two men were killed exactly twenty-nine days apart." She hesitated briefly and shuddered, tremors evident in her voice. "And then I had another idea. And I checked the lunar calendar. Both men were killed on the night of the full moon. And the next one is in two days."

Sheldon stared at her intensely, thinking that information through. Finally, he decided to break it down to her, loud and clear. "Alex, come on. You're a scientist, just like me. You may not have a PhD-yet-but that's what you are. We live in a world of facts, evidence, logic... reality. To even entertain..."

Alex sighed. "I just feel... think... that is way too many coincidences..."

Sheldon cut her off. "Any theory that doesn't actually explain anything and raises more questions than answers does not deserve the time of day. Now, authorities have yet to officially confirm or disprove any specific details about those murders, so for all we know, you're basing it all on the information that may not even be true. As for those hunters. There have only been two deaths so far, and predators are always more active on the night of the full moon. Known fact. And that forest is large. No wonder they haven't found that beast yet. Assuming that it didn't crawl away and die somewhere by now. What sounds more believable to you? A couple of drug-related murders, at worst a serial killer on a prowl, and a rabid wolf or a coyote, or that vampires and werewolves actually exist?"

Alex looked at him intently, her facial expression firm. "I think that we will definitely know more about this whole case once this equation is solved," she finally said, quite calmly, and it almost sounded like she was challenging him. She smirked and raised an eyebrow. "You think you can do it?"

"Most definitely." He took a step closer to her. "In the meantime, stay away from pseudoscience. Stick to what you do best. Physics and Math."

"Gladly," Alex agreed, standing up. They locked eyes. A moment passed.

Suddenly, Alex leaned over and kissed him on the lips. Sheldon was startled at first, but he soon relaxed, feeling himself flush, sensations running through his body. It lasted for a few moments, and then she pulled away, still looking up at him, eyes-wide, her cheeks flared. But then she grinned and said, in a soft whisper: "Like I said... great to have you back."

And then she turned around and quickly left the room, immediately making her way down the stairs. Sheldon looked after her, stunned, his head spinning.

#

Alex sighed and rubbed her forehead, looking away from the piece of paper on her writing desk. She had no idea why she was still trying to solve that equation, when she had already unsuccessfully tried to do it multiple times, and then decided to have Sheldon do it. Apparently, curiosity would always get the better of her.

Suddenly, she heard a soft, repetitive sound from near by. She looked up and saw a raven, standing on the window shelf outside, tapping its wing against the window.

Alex stared at the bird, feeling herself shiver. Then she turned around and looked at the clock. 12 AM. She sighed. "You gotta be kidding me!"

She put the paper in the drawer, pulled the drapes on and quickly went to sleep. With a night light on.


End file.
